With under a month left in the women’s college basketball regular season, the race for national player of the year is well and truly heating up.
And to no surprise, it remains a tight race.
The race will be on full display this week, particularly on Thursday in Los Angeles at the Galen Center, where No. 1 UCLA and center Lauren Betts travels to take on No. 6 USC and guard JuJu Watkins in a pivotal Big Ten matchup.
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Currently, according to oddsmakers on BetMGM, Betts is the favorite to win women’s college basketball’s prestigious individual award in two months from now at +100 odds. Betts is coming off a nine-point, six-rebound performance against Oregon last Sunday — her second-lowest scoring game of the season.
Watkins, who was a finalist for the award last season as a freshman, is averaging 23.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game this season while shooting 43% from the field. She has recorded five double-doubles this season.
Notre Dame star guard Hannah Hidalgo still remains in the race as well, and in fact sits atop of Watkins on BetMGM. In her last three games for the Irish, Hidalgo is averaging 28.0 points and 5.0 assists while shooting 55.0% from the field.
Here’s the latest on who is the favorite to win the 2024-25 Naismith Women’s Basketball Player of the Year award:
Women’s college basketball player of the year odds leader
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Tuesday, Feb. 11
The current leader for the 2024-25 Naismith Player of the Year for women’s basketball is Betts, at +100 odds on BetMGM.
Betts, an All-Big Ten preseason team member, ranks second in the Big Ten (only behind Watkins) in scoring at 19.6 points per game. She is fifth in the conference in field goal shooting percentage at 63.1%. She also ranks fourth in the Big Ten in rebounds per game, at 9.7.
Throughout UCLA’s 23-game win streak to open the season, Betts has led the Bruins in scoring on 14 different occasions. If Betts does end up being named the national player of the year, she would be the first UCLA player to win the award since it was established in 2004.
Women’s college basketball player of the year candidates
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Tuesday, Feb. 11
Rounding out the top three for is Hidalgo and Watkins at +160 and +225 odds on BetMGM, respectively.
Hidalgo has been the focal point of Notre Dame’s offense since she arrived in South Bend, Indiana last year. She enters this week ranked second in the country in scoring at 25.9 points per game. The 5-foot-6 sophomore guard has finished with double digit scoring in each of the Irish’s last 56 games — which dates back to her debut last season against South Carolina in Paris.
Meanwhile, Watkins enters this week ranked fifth in the country in scoring at 23.9 points per game. The 6-foot-2 guard has reached double-digit figures in each of the Trojans last 27 games — which dates back to the start of the NCAA Tournament last year vs. Texas A&M Corus Christi — and has scored at least 20 points in 19 games this season.
Here’s who has the top nine best odds, including ties, to be named the player of the year in women’s basketball this year:
- 1. UCLA C Lauren Betts (+100)
- 2. Notre Dame G Hannah Hidalgo (+160)
- 3. USC G JuJu Watkins (+225)
- 4. UConn G Paige Bueckers (+10000)
- 5. LSU F Aneesah Morrow (+12500)
- T-6. FSU G Ta’Niya Latson (+15000)
- T-6. Texas F Madison Booker (+50000)
- T-6. Kentucky G Georgia Amoore (+50000)
- T-6. TCU G Hailey Van Lith (+50000)
When is the women’s college basketball player of the year announced?
- Date: Wednesday, April 2
- Location: Tampa, Fla.
The 2024-25 ceremony will take place on Wednesday, April 2 in Tampa, Florida — the host city of the 2025 Final Four — per the Naismith Trophy website.
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